


Tie The Knot Fivefold

by Lunarium



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Culture, Bridezilla, Cultural Differences, Family, Humor, Meeting the Parents, Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Polyamorous Voltron Paladins, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Romelle (Voltron), Weddings, poor shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 18:15:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20511362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: Shiro is getting married! And someone is a bridezilla, but it’s not any of Shiro’s brides and grooms.





	Tie The Knot Fivefold

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Shiro Rare Pair Flash Bang! This was so much fun to write, as I couldn't help exploring all the ways that Shiro and co's families would drive them up the wall. :D 
> 
> This assumes a canon divergence after S6. Borrows some ideas that I have for my "After You Found Me" story, which I will get back to at some point. ♥️
> 
> Many thanks to lolesky for looking this over! ♥️

Admiral Hayato Shirogane, General Takara Shirogane, and Lieutenant Ryou Shirogane all stared at the screen, every one of them utterly dumbfounded. 

“You’re...getting married?!” Hayato repeated back to his son. 

“Yes!” Shiro said, trying to keep up a steady smile amidst his family’s stunned gazes.

“…to _every_ one of your team mates?” 

“Yeah, I suppose I am!” Shiro laughed sheepishly. A ruckus was heard beyond the camera, and suddenly five other faces appeared around Shiro. 

“Hi, Admiral Shirogane!” Hunk’s voice boomed as he and Pidge waved. 

“I thought you’d only pick Keith,” Ryou said. “You never stopped talking about him after you two met! I mean, yeah you were once thinking about marrying that other guy, but we all knew better, ha ha!” 

“Well, yeah! Keith’s my number one!” Shiro shared a look with Keith, who wore a slightly amused smile at this awkward situation, before suddenly Lance appeared. 

“Hey! Shiro’s my hero, and now you get to share him with me!” Lance stuck his tongue out at Keith, who rolled his eyes. 

“Guys, not this again. Keep that talk only in the bedroom—uh, I mean!” Shiro chuckled, awkwardly glancing at the camera. Ryou shrieked with laughter; Hayato glared at his youngest son before returning to Shiro. 

“What is going on, Takashi?” Hayato demanded. Takara quietly studied the paladins. 

“Uh…how do I explain this? I _have_ to marry all of the paladins, Dad. Not against my will or anything! They’re my best friends—I’d die for them—I already have, ha ha!—I mean—” 

“Admiral Shirogane, if I may,” Allura said as she crouched next to Shiro and Keith. The Shirogane's faces all perked at her ethereal beauty. Was Shiro going to marry her, a princess?! Well! “Ever since the first time we formed Voltron, we have discovered so many of its abilities and unlocked powers not even my father, King Alfor, was aware of. We have recently become aware of a new ability that will tip the war against the Galra Empire greatly in our favor.” 

Shiro nodded. “Thanks to your efforts, of course, Dad.” 

“The Admiral _and_ my father’s,” Pidge pointed out.

“Yes—yourself and Dr. Sam Holt—sorry!” Shiro quickly corrected himself. “Without their joint efforts, without the new Lion…” 

Allura nodded. “With the White Lion, we can enter a new state known as Hyperphase Voltron. But we cannot do it without bonding deeper than we ever have before.” 

“We’ve already bonded more intimately than the paladins of old,” Shiro said, “which is why we’re thinking a marriage will help us to achieve the bond needed to activate Hyperphase Voltron.” 

Allura nodded. “Which is why we must come together!” 

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge snorted behind their hands while Keith and Shiro side-eyed Allura. 

“Er, join together!” Shiro hastily corrected as his face grew red. “As in, _marry_! Yeah!” 

“Shiro, they know what we’ll be doing after the wedding,” Keith said, and it only made Shiro’s face even redder. Behind him, Hunk and Pidge were making rude suggestive hand gestures. Ryou chortled until Takara’s glare silenced him. 

“Takashi, know we are very proud of you,” Takara spoke, her voice professional and proper. “We look forward to meeting the rest of your families. We’ll speak more of this at a later time. Congratulations to all of you.” 

The video chat ended and Shiro’s family regarded one another. 

“Speaking as the Admiral of the Atlas…I did not expect that,” Hayato confessed. 

“He’s going to marry a princess,” Takara mused. 

Hayato counted on his fingers. “An Altean princess, a programming genius, a culinary wizard who’s also an expert engineer—they can help upgrade my and Takashi’s bionic parts when we need them—a guy who shoots and talks a lot, and a half-Galra Blade who’s apparently our son’s soulmate. We got ourselves an interesting mix.” 

“I get to be related to Pidge and Hunk!” Ryou said happily. “I’m cool with that!” 

“A princess!” Takara repeated, amazed. “I never thought—our boy! He’s going to marry a _princess_!” 

“We didn’t think he would even get to this age,” Hayato reminded her in a quiet voice, as if the camera was still on. “Let’s count our blessings, even if our family’s about to get…”

“Large and weird,” Ryou finished with a laugh. “_Really_ weird. I’m so ready for this. Bro, what have you got yourself into!” 

“_A princess!_”

⁂

Shiro watched them all argue and tried to swallow his panic. Lance kept taunting Keith over Shiro; Pidge ran to Keith’s rescue by first giving Keith a lingering kiss, completely taking him by surprise, then sweet-talking up Allura until Lance was whining so loudly everyone’s ears bled. It didn't take long before Lance was trying to get back at her by putting the moves on Hunk—while not exactly being smooth, _at all_—only for Hunk to laugh it off and give Allura and Keith some pretty lingering hugs with his hands suggestively slipping down their hips.

It was a nightmare. Allura and Lance had been giving one another the eye throughout their journey, and Hunk and Pidge had been steadily becoming friends and much more since the day they first met. And Keith…Keith was the love of Shiro’s life. 

Everyone had found their own partners. And now they were expected to do…_this?_

Shiro couldn’t go through with this wedding. What if they, in their effort to meld and merge into something bigger than all of them combined, ended up splintering apart? Not just physically, but between themselves? Relationships souring, friendships breaking, and it would all be because of him.

By all rights, he should have been dead. They should have been the ones forming Voltron, not with him. How had his father and Sam even been able to make a White Lion? And one that responded so well with the others as if they had always been a pride all along? The White Lion latched onto the back of Voltron and gave the giant robot upgraded wings. Only Allura alone could pilot it, being a sacred Altean with the knowledge of Oriande in her veins; this meant that Lance was back in Blue, Keith back in Red, and Shiro back in Black. 

And he felt awful for taking the lion away from Keith after everything, and especially after feeling so proud when he saw how well Keith and Black could work together.

What the hell was he doing? Why was he back to being alive? Was him being back going to screw with events? Was he only going to doom the war against the Empire, against Sendak, against Haggar and Merla? 

Was he really about to marry five other people and potentially trod on the relationships that had already begun to form between two other pairs? This was for _life_. 

“Hey, breathe!” 

Shiro let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. 

“Everything okay, Shiro?” Keith strolled over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Instantly Shiro found comfort in his presence. 

“How are you enjoying your engagement?” Shiro asked in his best attempt at being lighthearted. Keith glanced out at their betrothed with a frown.

“Guess I have to live with it,” he said. “I managed well enough as paladins with them.” 

“Keith. This is more serious than being a part of a team. You’re marrying five other people. You’re going to spend your life with—” 

“I know,” Keith said with a shrug. “But I’ll be spending it with you too, so that can’t be too bad.” 

Taken aback, a smile spread across Shiro’s face as warmth filled his cheeks. Keith leaned closer as his hand slipped from his usual place on Shiro’s shoulder to settle on his bicep. 

“I’ve learned that I’m part of a powerful race of aliens who are striving for complete universal occupation. My beloved pet is a cosmic wolf who can teleport. I’ve gone into other realities. I was kicked out of school for grieving too hard over a friend I loved and couldn’t understand why it hurt so much back then. I was able to bring my best friend from the dead after learning the man I was trying to save was a compromised clone of him. I was punched so hard by that said clone I lost my helmet, and he gave me a scar to remember him by. I’ve since learned the reason why our lives are so interconnected is because we’re soulmates—a very sacred and deep bond that’s going to give us the upper hand in the fight against Haggar and Sendak. This is nothing.” 

Keith grinned. “I’m going to marry my best friend.” 

“Keith!” Moved, Shiro clasped Keith around the middle and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“Ah, Number One, Number Four!” Coran jogged up to them. “I see you’re enjoying your engagement! Congratulations again! If you will, I’ve got some matters in order to discuss.” 

Sharing a smile, Shiro and Keith split apart just as the other paladins joined them. They followed Coran to the meeting room. Lance was, of course, the first to gang up on them over their earlier intimacy. 

“Hey! We all get a chance at hugging Shiro, Keith! We’re all his brides now!” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “We’re all engaged to each other. Want me to hug you too? Lock lips for a bit? I’ve been practicing with Shiro for our big day, Lance.” 

The realization of _that_ made Lance balk. 

“Okay, settle down!” Coran ordered as he waved his arms. Clearing his throat, he popped up a holographic image of a calendar. “Right! So I’ve contacted the rest of your families and set up a time for you all to meet them. Lance—since your family’s the closest, they will be first; then Hunk’s. Then we will meet with the Holt’s before traveling to Kyoto to stay with the Shiroganes while we finalize the wedding preparation. Oh, and Krolia will meet us there so we can bring her up to date. I’ll arrange for the engagement party, so don’t worry your heads over that. 

“And then you’ll all meet up with me again, as I don’t believe any of you have gotten precise permission from me, as Princess Allura’s guardian, for her hand—” 

At this, every paladin gave one another awkward glances.

“—and there are many Altean courting rituals you must include!” With a dramatic display of his hands, Coran concluded, “And then we’ll have the wedding, and then you’ll bada-bing-bada-boom, and Voltron will be able to enter Hyperphase!” 

“That sounds easy enough,” Lance said. 

“Easier said than done,” Hunk said. “Do you have any idea how much goes into preparing a wedding between two people?! Imagine six! What wedding customs will we be following? What sort of foods? Guests? Clothes—do we have to pick a color theme? What if one of our families objects?” He gasped and jolted to his feet. “What if _my_ parents object! The whole universe will be doomed because of me!” 

“Relax, Hunk,” Shiro said. “We’ll have to explain to every family the reason for our wedding, as we’d just done with my family. I’m sure they’ll understand.” 

“And if they don’t, we can always elope,” Pidge laughed. “Marrying against your family’s wishes to save the universe!” 

Lance and Hunk laughed but Shiro, Kieth, and Allura frowned. 

“I hope it won’t come to that,” Allura said. “The bond we are seeking must be an eternal bond. We mustn’t marry just for the sake of Voltron then divorce once the war has been won. It has to feel beautiful. It has to be forever.” 

Shiro wished she didn’t have to put it that way. He wasn’t terrified of commitment. He had been close to that path before, and with Keith, the feeling was more than right. This was the man he wished to wake up with for the rest of his life. 

But with the others? 

Again, they were his dearest friends, but friends and marriage partners were wholly different. 

“Hey, would it be possible for me to contact my family before we reach them?” Lance asked, suddenly looking nervous. “I need them to, uh, get the house ready for all of us.” 

“Why?” Keith narrowed his eyes. “Do you have a ‘Keith Sucks’ shrine in your room or something?” 

This time, everyone laughed.

⁂

The Álvarez family greeted them warmly. Lance introduced them to his grandparents Irma and Ernesto, and his parents Selma and Rafael. There were also his siblings: Veronica—who Shiro already knew and was friends with at the Garrison—Rachel, Marco, and Luis, and Luis’s wife Lisa Lopez, and their children Silvio and Nadia.

The living room had been repurposed as a dining room area for the large assembly of guests. Food was passed around as the paladins explained the situation to the family. 

“Whoa!” Macros laughed. “I remember the days when you couldn’t even bring a girl home! Now you’re engaged to five—two ladies and three men!” 

“Even to your arch nemesis?” Veronica teased. 

“Hey!” Lance jumped. “Keith and I have learned to get along really well over the years!” 

Keith snorted and leaned close to Shiro. “Absolutely swimmingly.” 

“Wait!” Pidge sniggered. “Loverboy Lance couldn’t bring a girl home? Ha! I already had three girlfriends before I met you and Hunk!” 

“Oh my!” Allura giggled as Hunk stared at her, impressed. “Three?” 

“Yep!” Pidge stuck out her chest. “Looking for my father and Matt was top priority, of course, but I knew how to get the ladies every now and again!” 

“I must say, she does have the moves,” Veronica said and raised her glass. Her traitorous siblings all toasted to that. 

Shiro grinned into his drink. 

The Te’o family were just as welcoming. They greeted the paladins with wide open arms and a large array of sweets. Hunk introduced them to parents Ana and Jordan, and Aunt Emily and Uncle Filo, and his own niblings Sefina and Lenny. 

“Wouldn’t they be your cousins?” Allura asked in a hushed voice.

Hunk smiled sadly. “Aunt Emily and Uncle Filo never had kids of their own, but they adopted Sefina and Lenny after my older sister and her husband…” 

He didn’t have to finish his sentence. 

Photos from before the passing of Hunk’s grandfather Hershel, as well as Hunk’s elder sister Helen with her husband Kalolo, were still displayed over the fireplace. 

Everyone in Hunk’s family were expert chefs. Uncle Filo made his special pork lau-lau who everyone but Jordan and Pidge could eat (and Ana, though more to show respect than religious requirement). 

Sefina and Lenny had so many questions about their travels, and to Shiro’s surprise they were interested in the interworkings of the Voltron lions and how the Castle functioned. 

“Are you interested in becoming engineers?” he asked, charmed by their intellect. Sefina had proudly showed him her sketchbook of designs, clearly trying to win over the Captain of Voltron with her brilliance. She blushed to her roots and giggled against Lenny, whose eyes had widened at the prospect of going to the Galaxy Garrison. 

They ate so much that by the time they left, Coran and Romelle were nearly dragging them back to their Lions. 

“Well, at least they also seem agreeable to us marrying,” Shiro said groggily as Keith yawned into his chest. 

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed. “Just—_yawn!_—need to figure out about the catering and stuff.” 

By the time they reached the Holts the next day, the relatively smaller reception was a welcome relief. Dr. Sam Holt, Colleen, and Matt greeted them, and the only other occupant in the house was Bae Bae. Matt had stopped by from his time with the rebels after Pidge had sent him word.

“I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this!” he laughed. “All six paladins!” His eyes narrowed comically dangerously. “Even Allura?” 

“Yup,” Pidge said smugly and winked at everyone else. “So how’s N-7 doing?”

⁂

Shiro was glad when they finally reached his family’s home. Despite the Japan Division for the Galaxy Garrison being in Tokyo, his family actually lived in Kyoto, although the home was seldom lived-in as everyone in the family worked for the Garrison.

“Damn, Shiro!” Lance whistled when they walked in. “You used to live in a mansion!” 

Shiro chuckled uneasily. “It’s not _that_ big. I didn’t stay here long. I ran away at a young age and lived with my grandfather in the States.” 

“Shiro, you were a bad boy?” Allura asked. “I never thought—”

Keith smirked, and Shiro knew why. All of their races together at the canyons, sneaking out of Garrison grounds (Shiro knew some ways Hunk and Lance would never figure out), and the fact that Shiro had once sweet-talked an older man—his own T.A., Adam—into being his boyfriend. Yeah, he supposed he was a bit of a bad boy. 

Shiro shrugged. “My father and I…didn’t see eye to eye when I was younger. I felt better being with Grandpa Ryou.”

“Ryou?!” Hunk said. “You have a grandfather and a brother both named Ryou?”

Shiro nodded. “My father chose a name for me that was similar to my mother’s—it’s not equivalent, but it’s similar enough—and he named my brother after my Grandpa Ryou. Both times he chose the name. He said he wanted to name us after the people he loved most.” 

Hunk’s eyes grew wide. “That’s so sweet!” 

Shiro just shrugged. 

The Shiroganes were warm and professional, all being Garrison officials. During Sendak’s attack on Earth, Admiral Hayato had worked to ensure that Japan did not fall into total destruction. Working closely with Sam Holt who had the files from the Castle of Lions, he and Ryou streamlined the new cruiser known as The Atlas. He became the Admiral of it, as well as a cyborg, as Shiro later learned. He had been caught in a few explosions, and each time Takara, Ryou, and their crew had brought him back. He was more robot than Shiro, Hayato was firm to remind Shiro when the GG technicians were crafting a new arm for his son (with help on the design from Pidge and Hunk.) 

Always with the competition. 

Well, Shiro thought bleakly as he gazed out over the people he was about to wed. He could potentially impregnate three of them in one go. Three simultaneous pregnancies, three children assuming no twins, and he’d already have fathered more children than Admiral Hayato Shirogane. 

Shiro shook the thought out of his head. He wasn’t going to be like his father. Would they even want to have kids? (Could they all have kids?) 

While waiting for Coran, Shiro, Keith, and the others lounged up in his old room he used to share with Ryou while catching up on some televisions shows. They introduced Allura and Romelle to all of their old favorites. Romelle was accompanying them as she had been appointed by Coran to help all engaged party members with whatever they needed. 

The Earth-born paladins mourned the foul endings to many of their old favorites. “Seriously, did every writer suddenly forget how to write?!” Pidge complained after yet another disappointing finale. 

But they did discover a couple of promising new favorites. 

They amused themselves with the new _Defenders of the Universe_ show, a cheesy animated spin-off based on Earth’s heroes: the paladins themselves. Shiro could barely look at the screen, the secondhand embarrassment was too much. He also needed to excuse himself whenever animated Keith spoke on screen.

“Why is Keith so happy?” Lance shouted, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “Hunk is an asshole! Allura, this is so racist of them, I’m sorry!” 

“Allura and Romelle are cousins in the series,” Pidge read from the show’s description. “Why did they base everything off Romelle and not the Princess of Altea—yeah, okay, either the designer was confused about who was the princess or someone’s racist. _At this day and age!_” 

Allura laughed uncomfortably. “There’s nothing wrong with Romelle! She’s beautiful!”

“But you are the princess,” Romelle said with a fond smile. 

“At least they made you a boy, Pidge!” 

Pidge smiled sadly. “Yeah, that was kinda nice.” 

“They made Romelle and you…” Keith pointed at Shiro who shook his head. 

“I asked not to be made,” he pointed out. “They made a character based on this Sven you met. _I’m_ not in the show.” 

“This is so horrible, I love it!” Hunk fell back, laughing. “Who wrote this?!” 

“Yeah, are we all sure we want to go ahead with this Men’s Wearhouse commercial Coran has been talking about?” Lance laughed. “If they butchered _this_ up—”

“I see you’re enjoying yourselves!” a voice greeted them as Ryou appeared by the door. Spotting Romelle, his eyes widened as a blush ran across his face. “And _hel-lo_ there! I don’t believe you’re one of the engaged?” 

“Hi, I’m Romelle! And no, I’m just a wedding helper!” Romelle said, equally as brightly. Pidge and Hunk shared a huge grin at one another. Keith and Shiro shared shocked glances.

_Defenders of the Universe_ got something right. 

“Watching anything good?” Ryou asked. He settled on the floor and scooted up against Shiro, squeezing himself in between Keith and Romelle. 

“Sorta,” Pidge said. “This show somehow managed to mangle every one of us.” 

“Nah, I think I look fine,” Lance said with a grin. “My hair’s never looked better.” 

“If you want to watch a good movie, Shiro and I have a fantastic collection!” Ryou said and immediately began to pull up the screen before Shiro could stop him. They browsed through the titles: the complete _Halloween_ series, all of _Friday the Thirteenth_, _My Mom Married Jack the Ripper_ Parts I, II, and III, _Curse of the Colossal Clowns_, _Revenge of the Robots…in 3-D!_, _The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati_, all of the classic Universal black and white Horror films, _Ringu_ and _The Ring_, _Candyman_—

“Oh, Candyman sounds nice!” Allura said. 

Lance swallowed thickly. “Trust me, it isn’t.” 

“Wow, Shiro, I never would have thought you two were into that stuff,” Hunk said. Pidge glanced at Keith who shrugged. 

“I knew,” he said, unable to hide the smirk. “One time he took Matt, Adam, and I to one of the Jack Ripper films. Adam didn’t stay; we found him vomiting in the bathroom. Matt filmed the whole thing on his phone; you can ask him about it. He never stops laughing about it.”

Shiro laughed, embarrassed. “I…it’s just fantasy!” 

“Shiro, there’s nothing wrong with dabbling with your darker side!” Allura said sweetly and pet his hand. 

“It’s just fun stuff!” Romelle said. “No one’s actually getting hurt—right? It’s just like in the shows we used to film on the colony.” 

“It’s definitely fun!” Ryou agreed. “You should watch ‘Braindead’ with me some time! It’s a classic! Peter Jackson was a genius!” 

“I’d love to!—Oh, what’s that?” She pointed to something on the screen, and Ryou’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, OH! It’s a new game called ‘Escape the Ayuwoki,’” Ryou explained excitedly. “They released it some time after you left, Shiro!” 

“Ayuwoki?” Romelle asked. “Is that Japanese?” 

Ryou laughed. “No, no. It sounds like ‘Are you okay, Annie.’” 

Romelle nodded. “Oh. It means ‘Are you okay, Annie’?” 

Ryou laughed again. “Okay, how do I explain this? This game was inspired by a deceased musician, from a long, long time ago. The title’s a mashup of his famous lyrics. You’ll hear other song references in the game. The whole objective is easy: you’re in a big abandoned mansion and you have to find the key in order to escape out the front gate.” 

Hunk nodded. “Sounds easy enough.”

“But don’t make any sound or the Ayuwoki monster will catch you.”

Pidge nodded slowly. “Okay…?” 

“And he can hear you. Literally. His movements pick up on your voice. Anything above negative fifteen decibels will get him running over to you!” 

“Knew there was a catch!” 

“So, what do you say?” Ryou grinned around. “There’s a multiplayer VR option. I can hunt for enough VR sets for all of us!” Romelle jumped to her feet, as did Hunk and Pidge, but Shiro and Keith were among those still sitting down, uneasy. 

“What does this monster look like?” Shiro asked. 

“Are you scared?” Ryou asked. 

That did it. 

Ryou found them all VR sets then took them down to the courtyard to play. It was big enough, and they wouldn’t injure themselves if they strayed. 

Damn—working as a team to get out of the mansion was harder than they thought. The Ayuwoki—cruelly depicted in the likeness of the long-ago deceased musician and a thousand times more terrifying, haunted their every move. The first time he showed up, they were doomed. His appearance alone could make anyone scream, and it was bad enough just to see the way he crawled.

No matter how hard they tried to remain quiet,nerves got to them in the end. Every single time.

“Okay, team, if we want to get serious about this, we’re going to need a plan,” Shiro said after their faces were eaten off by the Ayuwoki by the umpteenth time. He was getting tired, but the others were only getting more eager to redo the round, frustrated with every defeat and eager to triumph over the Ayuwoki. 

They had to be absolutely silent. They’ve gone through the mansion dozens of times. They knew the layout like the back of their hand. They knew what they had to do to escape. 

Final round—Shiro swore if they lost this time he was going to pretend he fainted just to get them to stop with this God awful game. He was sure to have nightmares of a bulging-eyed, pale-faced monster chewing his face tonight—damn it Ryou! As if the constant “Hee hee!” in their ears from the monster wasn’t unnerving enough! But the team, as giddy as they were over the game, were being well behaved this time around. He saw Keith’s avatar and Pidge’s. Romelle and Ryou were—oh, _God_. Shiro had to roll his eyes; he wasn’t sure if he should smirk or roll his eyes—were playing the game while huddling together. Seeing Ryou and Romelle together got him to move beside Keith, placing his head on Keith’s shoulder and earning a much-needing pat. He could play alongside Keith. 

The team moved in unison, filing down the hall and sinking behind overturned furniture and tables as the Ayuwoki passed in his patrol. He did his creepy, spine-tingling crawl. Okay, that was over. Move on, team. 

There it was—the final stretch. They approached the foyer—they just had to run to the red front doors and they would finally be free from this nightmare, when suddenly—

A new figure approached.

Was that the Ayuwoki? 

How did he hear them? They were so quiet! 

Instead of running towards them as he normally did, the Ayuwoki stood, tall and terrifyingly creepy as always, before he threw his arms wide apart and opened his wide mouth and spoke: 

“By the quiznaking Ancients! You have any idea how hard it was finding you?!” 

Hunk screamed. “The Ayuwoki sounds like Coran!” 

“I _am_ Coran, Number Two!” 

Groaning, the others removed their VR sets. 

“What’s going on?” Ryou asked, studying his set with a frown. “The game must be lagging. It thought this guy is the monster!” 

Coran laughed. “I’m no monster, I assure you that, Mini-Shiro! Although I can play a mean game of Glorblonthian checkers!” 

“What brings you in, Coran?” Allura asked. 

“Why, have you all forgotten?” Coran asked earnestly. “All your families’ here for the engagement party! Don’t you remember?” 

“Uh, must have got sidetracked by the Ayuwoki,” Hunk chuckled sheepishly. 

Shiro gulped. Oh, no. He wasn’t ready—they were…it was so _soon_, this was going to finalize everything—“The engagement’s party _soon?!_” 

“As of this evening, Number One!”

⁂

Coran cleared his throat before addressing the several families before him. They were all gathered at the Tokyo Garrison’s meeting hall for the official engagement party.

“Right then!” Coran said. “I’m sure you’re all wondering how this came about! Of course you’ve all by now been told that these six fine paladins will be joining in holy matrimony, but you probably didn’t know fully _why_.” 

“You have to enter Hyperphase Voltron!” Ryou shouted out. 

“Correct, Mini-Shiro!” Coran shouted back. “But what you probably didn’t know was that every one of these paladins are soulmates—three pairs of soulmates—and not only that! But to one another!” 

“What Coran means,” Allura added as she stood up, “is throughout our journey, we have studied the universe and time itself. We’ve discovered that what brought Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance to me wasn’t mere consequence. It was destiny and fate, and an occurrence that will keep repeating in every lifetime.

“We, all six of us paladins, are deeply bonded on a spiritual level since—I…well, I cannot express how long this has been going on. The Goddess is eternal. Our universe may have a beginning and one day an end, but there was a universe before ours, and one before that, and even multiple alternate realities. Other versions of ourselves, but even in all of those realities and lifetimes we come back to each other and are reborn together in every lifetime. Our souls travel through this phenomenon all together.

“My paladins and I belong to one such soulmate group. We are never born far apart—even if we are born in different planets, we always find one another. Keith and Shiro are the first pair of soulmates. Well, they’re an exceptional pair, soulmates who are higher up on a greater vibration frequency—”

“T’hy’la!” Ryou and Matt shouted. 

“Is that what they’re called?” Allura asked brightly. “Yes, Shiro and Keith are T’hy’la!” 

Shiro’s face burned. Behind Ryou and Matt, Aunt Akane snorted loudly before whispering something to her wife Yuuna. She gave Shiro the Vulcan salute. 

“Hunk and Pidge make up the second pair of T’hy’la,” Allura went on, “and Lance and I make up the third. But together we form one group. And many of you may be part of our outer circle: like Ryou or Coran or Romelle may have been in our past lives, our guidance and our brothers and close allies. 

“Why this matters is because Voltron needs our _complete_ bond. Since the moment we met we’ve strived to work together as a team, we’ve strived to bond with one another more closely than any other paladin before us. But we’re missing something, and after carefully studying the situation we’ve agreed the only way to achieve this is by a marital union.” 

“So…is this still a marriage of love?” Matt asked, raising his hand as if he were in class. 

Allura smiled. “Of course. We love one another deeply, and we’ve learned our union will unlock the key to saving everyone from the joined forces of Sendak, Merla, and Haggar, which is why we’re—” 

“So you’re saying your love will save the universe?” Ryou said before turning to Romelle, grinning wide. “Dang! Party hard!” 

Shiro frowned. “I know this sounds exciting, but don’t forget the primary purpose of our wed—”

“Katie, you absolutely must stop by the hotel!” Colleen called out. “I’ve already chosen ten dresses for you to try on! You have to out-wear every lady at the wedding altar!” 

“_Mom!_” Pidge yelled. “The only other lady is Allura! I can’t do that to my friend!” 

“But, this is your biggest day, Katie!” Colleen’s tone turned darker by the moment. 

_“I’m not wearing a dress!”_ Pidge shot back. 

“I wouldn't mind wearing a dress,” Shiro mumbled sadly. The comment still seemed to earn him a look from his father as if he knew what he was thinking. 

“Please, let us take care of the catering!” Mrs. Te’o begged Coran. “Our family’s cooking is simply the best!” 

“There must be cannolis at the wedding!” Colleen snapped. 

“Our son has Celiac Disease!” General Takara Shirogane’s voice boomed over them. “All food items must get clearance through _me_ before they can be served at the reception!” 

“Shiro has it too?” Mrs. Te’o gasped. “So does Emily and Lenny!” 

“Are you certain you wish to take on this task?” Krolia asked Mrs. Te’o; of everyone in the audience, Krolia had remained the most stoic-faced. “I’ve just received word from Kolivan. Every single Blade member wishes to attend, and they’re bringing over a guest…” 

Keith blanched. 

“Now, now!” Coran stepped in, waving his hands. “Just leave all of the fineries to me! Only the very best balls were held on Altea thanks to Coran the Planning Man!”

“Wait, weren’t you the one who gave us that disgusting green goo when we arrived here?” Selma, Lance’s mother, asked. “Luis still has diarrhea!” 

A round of loud anger and protests erupted—“Yeah, what was up with that goo?”—before the entire room was filled with six angry parties shouting their disagreements over the wedding. 

Across the room, the six fiancés and fiancées all exchanged frazzled looks. 

What monster have they just unleashed? 

What have they done?

⁂

“Well,” Allura said much later on. It was just the six of them, five of whom wore Forlongian brill hats as dictated by Altean courting customs. The Battle of the In-Laws at the engagement party had long abated, although the betrotheds’ were still shaking from the ordeal. “Despite how…interesting…last evening was, it’s time we discussed the actual wedding and finalized some legalities.”

“I have never thought my mother was capable of so much anger,” Hunk said, still wide-eyed. 

Lance nodded. “No offense, Keith, but your mother was the most calm one in the room until—_well_.”

“No offense taken.”

Shiro ducked his head. He had to make apologies after Admiral Shirogane ordered for Krolia’s arrest. 

“If _my_ mom buys me a dress I’m ripping it to shreds,” Pidge fumed. 

Allura frowned. “Do you want us to shop for wedding attire together, Pidge? Are there suits you can get?” 

Pidge wiped the beginnings of tears from her eyes. “I’d love a wedding suit!” 

Allura beamed. “So, about our wedding customs. There’s quite a diverse group represented here.” 

Keith sunk into his chair. “My mom pulled me aside afterwards,” he began. “I’m not sure you want to include this.” 

“Well, what is it?” Allura asked. 

“Galra typically test one another’s strength before they marry,” Keith asked. 

“As in sparring?” Shiro guessed hesitantly. 

“More extreme,” Keith said. “Depending on the region, some toss their betrothed over a fence or wall, or even throw them over a hill and see if they survive.” 

Lance erupted into a series of flummoxed laughter, slapping his knees. “_What?!_” 

“No one’s tossing _me_ over a wall—_A HILL?!_” Allura shrieked. 

Shiro held his hand. “Hey! Please, no more fights. I’m sure we all hated watching our families dissolve into, well—”

“—into a zoo of deranged hyenas,” Keith finished for him. 

Shiro tried to hide his smirk. “I wouldn’t exactly call it that—”

“You know I’m right. It’s like weddings suck out all common sense.” 

The others grumbled their agreement. Shiro gave Keith’s hand a squeeze. 

They waited until Allura collected herself before she continued. 

“Now…our traditions,” she said. “There’s so much to think about. As Keith just demonstrated, we have Galra traditions. He also has his human traditions to consider, if he wishes to honor them. There’s also Altean traditions.” 

“Maybe we should go in order,” Shiro said. 

“Good idea!” Pidge said, brightening up. “Um…I don’t really know anything about Italian, Dutch, or Jewish weddings.” 

“My dad was half Korean and half Navajo,” Keith said. “I never had a chance to really be immersed in my heritage, but I want to honor my dad.” 

“I just know in my tradition,” Shiro said, “the marrying party give gifts to their parents. I only know this because I was there when my aunt Akane married her wife.”

Lance smiled. “I remember having fun in Luis’s wedding! But I can’t pinpoint anything that stands out about Cuban weddings, you know?” 

“I’ve been to my uncle’s,” Hunk said. “And I just barely remember when my sister Helen married Kalolo. Some Samoan traditions, some African-American, some Muslim. I might have gone to a lot of other relatives’ weddings when I was younger, but I don’t remember any of them.”

Pidge growled. “We clearly need to research this!” 

Allura paled as she studied her fellow betrothed. “And I want to honor both my parents and also Coran. It helps that we’re all from South Altea.”

The others nodded their understanding. So many traditions—species, cultures, faiths—to consider.

“Are we going to be able to pull this off?” Lance asked. “There has never been a wedding like this before! I mean, there hasn’t, has there?” 

“That’s a lot of factors to take into account,” Hunk agreed.

“If there has, it’s not the same as our situation,” Keith said. 

“And we don’t want to offend any of our guests,” Shiro reminded them. “You saw how they got over the matter of the wedding dress and the reception.” 

At that memory, everyone shuddered. 

“Okay, research time!” Pidge announced.

⁂

It took time, but the paladins reached a point where everyone felt more comfortable with how to hold the wedding.

Then the talk turned to legalities.

“What are we changing our last name to?” Allura asked. “_Are_ we changing our last names?” 

“Shiro’s the Head of Voltron,” Keith was quick to answer. 

“That’s because _you_ want to be a Shirogane!” Pidge retorted playfully. 

Finding himself the center of attention again, Shiro nervously laughed and motioned towards Allura. “What about Allura? As Princess of Altea, don’t we default to her?” 

“Do you really want to be Nesba’Troggirlam?” 

“_That’s_ your last name?” Lance whined. “But, Coran’s name—” 

Allura shrugged. “That’s always been the royal line’s name.” 

“Eh, I’ve heard of worse names,” Pidge said. 

Keith and Shiro just exchanged a shrug. 

“We could just make a new clan name for ourselves,” Hunk suggested. 

“Voltronians,” Lance snorted. 

“No,” Keith and Shiro said flatly.

“Yes!” Hunk and Pidge passionately said at the same time. 

Allura rubbed her chin. “It _is_ a compromise we can consider.” 

Lance regarded Keith and Shiro smugly until Allura spoke again. She set her pen and pad down and folded her fingers together over the table. 

“Oh, I forgot to mention!” she said brightly. “It is Altean tradition that, from the engagement to the wedding the engaged parties must not participate in any sexual activity, including masturbation.” 

“_WHAT?!_” Lance cried out. 

“We believe starving the body of any physical pleasures will ensure a more satisfying wedding night,” Allura explained, giggling at Lance’s reaction. 

Pidge just shrugged. Hunk was counting off with his fingers how long it would be until the wedding before deciding he’d survive. 

“Eh, doesn’t bother me,” Keith said. 

Shiro at first glanced at Allura, at Keith, around the table before, finally nodding. “It’s fair. We will respect your tradition, Princess.” 

“You hesitated,” Keith said, his eyes narrowed. 

A terrible flush ran across Shiro’s face. He coughed nervously and laughed. “Yeah, well…I’ve been locked up by aliens for a year. This shouldn’t be hard!” 

Keith continued to stare at him in a way that was already going to make this chastity-wait impossible. Lance, meanwhile, was still gawking at Allura. 

“So!” Shiro coughed loudly and tried not to look at Keith’s direction (impossible; he was always looking at Keith). “Bank accounts! Do we merge everyone into one account or keep separate?” 

“Separate,” Pidge said. “My parents do even if their relationship is stable. It was the first thing they taught Matt and me. 

“Um, beds: do we get separate rooms or a giant bedroom? How do we even find a bed big enough for all of us?” 

“That’s a very good question,” Hunk said. “And that bed is important for unlocking Hyperphase. I mean, can we do the, you know, on any other bed, or will we be falling off an—” 

“Hunk, you’re thinking of—!”

“Sorry!” 

“We’ll have to have the bed tailor-made,” Allura said. “And yes, it may be best to also have separate rooms for our own sanity. The love-room can be for…practical reasons.” 

“Now you’re thinking of sex!” Lance accused. 

“I was not!” 

“You’re blushing!” 

“Oh, shut it!” 

“Hey, speaking of bedrooms,” Hunk butt in, “just how big is this house we’re getting? I mean, if we’re getting separate rooms, and a shared room for the team buildup exercise—”

“—that’s an on-point way of putting it,” Shiro said firmly when Lance opened his mouth to comment.

“—then how many other rooms are we gonna need? I mean, have we discussed kids yet?” 

“Oh, we haven’t!” Allura gasped. “I was so busy thinking of taking down Sendak and Merla and Haggar that—” Closing her eyes and sighing, she faced her paladins with a little shy blush. “I would love children.” 

“I volunteer to put some in you!” Lance said with a raised hand then shrunk at Shiro’s glare. “What?! I make sperm! I can get Pidge and Keith preg—” He gasped dramatically and pointed at Keith. “Wait, Keith! I might get you pregnant! Are you okay with that?” 

Keith paused, impeding horror crossing his face. He studied Shiro uncomfortably then at the others. “I didn’t plan for it—I mean, as long as it doesn’t prevent us from activating Hyperphase—”

“I don’t think Voltron would be that cruel,” Shiro said. “We should have the autonomy to decide if and when to have children, and with who.” 

Keith nodded. “I suppose if it happens…” 

“No pressure, man,” Lance said. “We can use protection.” 

“That’s a good solution,” Shiro said. 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “And there are other venues too.” 

Lance’s eyes widened. “You like it from the backdoor? Well, if you say so!”

Shiro cracked a smile and immediately tried to hide it, knowing where Keith was going. Keith leaned into the table, keeping Lance’s gaze steady with his. 

“Nah, I was thinking of introducing you to one of my Bad Dragons.” 

Hunk and Pidge guffawed. Even Allura, who had unfortunately learned what a Bad Dragon was—thanks to some Earth talk with Pidge, Nadia, Ina, and Romelle—only flushed deeper.

But Lance just looked confused. “You have a dragon?” 

“Oh yeah, a really _big_ dragon,” Keith drawled and indicated by placing his hands wide apart. The others only laughed harder. Realizing what Keith meant, Lance yelped. 

“Okay, guys, didn’t Allura just tell us to keep all thoughts of sex off our minds until we’re married?” Hunk complained. Pidge was still laughing, her face buried in her arms. 

“Hunk,” Keith said. “I’m okay with you knocking me up.”

“Ah, thanks, buddy.” 

“But promise if we have a kid, we’re naming them Heath.”

Hunk blinked. “Isn’t that your dad’s name?”

Keith nodded. “And Keith was my grandfather’s name.” 

Punching the air, Hunk gave a hoot. “I get to carry on the Koh tradition!”

“Would it also be all right if we adopt?” Shiro asked. “I mean, in addition to having our own?” They had seen so many planets destroyed. War had made so many orphans. 

The others nodded, especially Allura and Keith. 

“Definitely! Heck, Matt and Hunk and I are already planning building a child,” Pidge said with a smirk. “We’ll have kids from every direction.” 

Shiro smiled before the terrible mental image crossed his mind: a house just bursting with screaming mini paladins, biological, adopted, and built. 

Maybe after the war. 

“What about you, Pidge?” Lance asked, face still the color of a beet from thinking about Keith’s Bad Dragon. “I got things figured out with Keith, and Keith’s got his plans with Hunk.” 

Finally looking up, Pidge shrugged. “Eh, if I can get pregnant at all.” At the others’ confused (and Hunk’s sudden nervous) looks, Pidge smirked. “Let’s just say Hunk and I had an…incident…several months ago. Hence why I’m building in lieu of spawning.” 

Lance whistled. “Am I the only one not getting any?!” 

“Not getting any what?” Allura asked politely. 

“Kisses! Banging!” Lance pleaded with Allura with his eyes. 

“Lotor,” Allura said.

“Beside him!” 

“Oh, there was one, back in Altea…” Allura blushed. The others let out “Oooh!”s and leaned in. 

“Spill!” Hunk and Pidge called out. 

“She was my _Silun Yistaz_,” Allura said. “My heart-friend. Amuena. When you reach a certain age in Altea, you can go through a ceremony with your heart-friend. It’s not unlike a wedding, where you swear your friendship and adopt each other’s first names as part of your middle name.” 

“That explains Coran’s name!” Hunk said. “He has multiple middle names! So one of them was his heart-friend?” 

Allura nodded. 

“Do you have a picture of her?” Shiro asked. 

“I do, actually!” She produced the small photo from the locket in her dress pocket, as others gathered around, curious to see her heart-friend: an Altean with dark skin, light blue Altean markings, teal hair and eyes, and a pink juniberry flower tucked into her hair, her bright smile mirrored Allura’s own. 

“Dang, Allura!” Pidge said. “You were rocking long braids back then!” 

Allura giggled. “Amuena did them for me. I could never wear my hair like that again after…you know.” 

Lance just sat, arms folded and looking grumpy. Hunk gave him a sympathetic pat on the head, and it was enough to ease him enough to look at Allura’s heart-friend. 

“I miss her so much,” Allura said. “But I want to think she’s happy for me. And cheering on the destruction of the Galra Empire.” 

“I’m sure she is,” Shiro said with a smile. 

They settled back down, silent for a while as the thought of Amuena hung in their thoughts. 

“What about our wills?” Shiro asked suddenly. 

Uneasiness seeped into the silence. 

“Um…what about our wills?” Pidge asked nervously. 

“We’re at war,” Shiro reminded them. “It would be advisable if we had wills written from now, in case something should happen to any of us.” 

“Ah, Shiro, you had to ruin the fun mood we were having!” Lance said. 

“Lance.” Shiro gave him a look. “This is a serious matter.” 

“Shiro’s right,” Allura said. “If something were to happen to me—”

“Nothing will!” Lance interjected. 

“—then I want to make sure my spouses and Coran have control over the Lions.” Allura smiled. “What if the Garrison tried to take Voltron away from us?”

“This is such a depressing thing to think about,” Hunk confessed. 

“But it’s important,” Shiro said. “May we never have to see those wills for many, many years down the line. But…

“When Adam and I were still together and seriously discussed the idea of getting engaged, we had done the same. I…didn’t know this but Adam must have forgotten to take me off his will. After his passing, after we reached Earth, I was contacted because I had inherited something from his will. I refused it. It went to his family instead. It didn’t feel right to inherit anything from him knowing we had broken up prior to my leaving.” 

Keith took Shiro’s hand, and Shiro squeezed Keith’s hand back. He had confided in Keith before this. The others listened in, nodding solemnly. 

Hunk was the first to speak. “Right. We’ll need to hire a lawyer—right? You need a lawyer for this?”

“Not necessarily,” Pidge said as she was looking it up on her laptop. “You don’t need a lawyer to notarize your will, but it needs to be signed by two witnesses.” She sighed heavily. “So we have the wills to take care of, we still don’t know what sort of house we’re getting, we’re still settling the matter of the wedding ritual—”

“—and the wedding attire,” Hunk reminded her, to which Pidge groaned loudly. 

“—AND THE ATTIRE, AND I SWEAR IF MY MOTHER INSISTS ON ME WEARING A DRESS—!” 

Shiro frowned. “I know how stressful this is. This isn’t going to be our only session together, I promise. We’ll figure everything out before then. We’ll just take it one day at a time.”

⁂

Shiro wanted to cry. He didn’t think shopping for wedding suits would be stressful at all. He took Keith, Hunk, and Lance with him, only to find his father, mother, brother, and Lance’s family close behind. His father had pulled Shiro away and had dropped the bomb on him: asking if Shiro, in this strange marriage, would still be considered the alpha male.

Shiro had just stared at his father with his jaws hanging before he could even think of a response. 

“I’m their equal!” he snapped. 

“I can see for someone like Keith,” Hayato said. “Although, and I hope you will forgive me for saying this, I better not hear of him ever getting a higher position than you.”

“DAD!” 

“Do you really see Lance as your equal?” 

“Dad, these are my teammates and I would—and have!—died for them!” 

Needless to say, the rest of the time spent shopping for wedding suits was soured. Shiro was positively shaking the entire time, and he couldn’t answer Keith’s worried glances. 

Krolia appeared at some point, providing some relief, as she wanted to go over with Keith and Shiro some Blade designs. She had found a blacksmith who would be able to forge more Marmoran Blade swords for each of the paladins as part of the Galran wedding ritual Keith had chosen. Shiro could sense his father leaning in to overhear, no doubt wanting to make sure Shiro’s own blade was the best among the blades they were planning on making. As if it wasn’t bad enough that General Takara Shirogane was also there, studying each blade design critically and throwing in comments that the Garrison could help engineer the blades with them, if the Blades wished to work together with her engineering team. 

“Your offer is kind, but we have a strict ritual and tradition on how the swords are made,” Krolia said. 

“But didn’t you also say the blades can only be activated if the wielder is Galra?” Takara asked. 

Krolia’s lip quirked, irritated, before she replaced it with a smile. “We are looking into all of our options, Mrs. Shirogane.”

Keith and Shiro stared at one another behind their mothers’ back. _Oh shit._

“And you should be getting a new blade for yourself,” Krolia said to Keith, turning her back on Takara. “As part of your wedding.” 

Shiro’s phone suddenly rang, and taking it as an opportunity to leave, Shiro excused himself. 

“Allura?!” Shiro gasped as the video chat pulled up to show the princess with a face full of tears. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine, Shiro!” Allura wept, wiping away at her eyes. “Everything’s just been a bit hectic, that’s all.”

Shiro could hear the commotion behind her: more arguments. He could make out Colleen and Coran going at it, with Pidge screaming at them both. At one point Colleen addressed Pidge: 

_“But you used to_ love _dresses!”_

_“PEOPLE CHANGE, MOM!”_

Good God. Was this ever going to end? 

“I’m so sorry, Allura,” Shiro sighed. “This isn’t how you wanted your wedding to go, I’m sure.” 

“I’m fine, really!” Allura said wetly. “They’ve picked a dress for me—it’s so beautiful, Shiro! The styles of Earth are so elegant and lovely! Things just got a little heated over what Pidge will wear, as I’m sure you can hear.”

“Ah.” Shiro leaned back. “Colleen’s still not hearing it?” 

“No,” Allura said. “And she…sort of said some things about me—”

“Oh—Allura! No! Oh, I’m so sorry!” 

“It riled Coran. But I’m okay, Shiro! I get it. I really do. Pidge is Colleen’s only daughter, so she wants her to look her best. I think my mother and Colleen would be at one another’s throats!” 

Shiro nodded as Allura tearfully chuckled at the thought. 

“I don’t understand why Colleen can’t give Pidge what she wants,” Allura said. Shiro could see that Allura was walking around the store, glancing through the selections. “They have everything—dresses for brides and bride’s maids—oh, we need to think of a color for Romelle and the others to wear!—and wedding suits! Wedding suits for Pidge! Look!” 

She spun and moved her phone around so Shiro could get a better look. 

“Want me to send a photo of what we’re thinking of ordering?” Shiro asked. “Pidge can design a suit based on that, then dress it up a bit to…feminize it, I suppose. To make her mother happy.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!”

“Great! I’ll go back and grab a picture for you.” 

“Thank you, Shiro! Pidge will love the idea!”

Shiro smiled. “Get me something in my size while you’re there.” 

“Oh! Do you really mean it, Shiro? It’s your big day!” 

Shiro glanced up. He did sort of mean it. It’d give his father a heart attack for sure—so much for being the alpha male (in his father’s opinion), but—

Shiro chuckled. “Nah. I’ll get a dress another time. Talk to you later.”

⁂

Well.

The wedding was tomorrow, and Shiro’s nerves were at an all-time high. 

Tonight everyone was at their new house. That was the first matter the paladins had settled out of their list, before even writing their wills (they wrote their wills the very first day in the new house, before the place was even furnished.) 

Their home had to be built to accommodate all of their needs, and perhaps it was part nostalgia and part realizing there was no other home that would fit all of their requirements, but it ended up being a replica of the old Castle of Lions. To an extent. Coran had been tasked with the job, and thus far only three stories existed. But there were hangars for the Lions, and some speculated if one day it would take flight to space solely due to the White Lion, as Allura’s Lion had some pretty impressive abilities that they were only becoming privy to. 

The paladins had agreed to have the Castle built on a remote region in Scotland: far away from any family that drove them up the wall in the United States, far away from Admiral Hayato Shirogane in Japan, and just near enough to the UK Division of the Galaxy Garrison. Admiral James Hawkins was a lot more agreeable man to deal with, and he was married to one of the Team Captains, Jeff, who seemed to enjoy engaging Keith on some light rivalry here and there. Of course, Lance and Hunk had already teamed up to play a prank on the Land Team’s captain, Cliff, while Allura found herself surrounded by three new friends: Cinda, Ginger, and Lisa, all of whom were now included on her list of bride’s maids. 

The Vehicle Voltron crew proved to be worthy neighbors. Sorry, Dad. 

Shiro threw himself backwards against the house and groaned. He couldn’t take any more of this.

The soon-to-be-newlyweds had spent the day furnishing the house and getting last-minute preparations done. The preparations leading up to the wedding hadn’t all gone smoothly—how could it? Between fighting a war and making plans for the wedding while dealing with over-invested parents and soon-to-be in-laws who were perhaps worse than the Galra Empire _and_ the Altean Empire from an alternate reality put together!—but everything was in order for tomorrow. Maybe. He must have gone through the list a million times. He was sure his hair, if it could get any whiter, would be platinum by now. 

Colleen was still calling Pidge in a last-minute effort to get her to reconsider her choice of wear for the wedding. It almost pushed Shiro to wear a dress out of rebellion. He was surprised he hadn’t picked up smoking and drinking from the stress—it was bad enough having to reel himself back from stress-wanking in the shower.

Of course the night morphed into an argument breaking out between Keith and Lance—nerves were getting to _all_ of them, and it was a little too suspicious that nothing had broken out at all during their time preparing the new house. Even Allura—spurred by Coran’s constant talk about how proud King Alfor and Queen Melenor would have been—was snapping at everyone, having completely lost her cool to the point of threatening the integrity of the order of the place they had just painstakingly put together all day long. No amount of attempts at diplomacy from Hunk could get anyone to calm down that even Shiro had broken down into tears and ran out. 

So Shiro had strolled to the second story balcony for a chance to take in some air. Maybe scream into the night if it came to that. 

Tomorrow. 

Tomorrow they were to wed. The bond was to be finalized. They were to—oh, God, what if they mess this up? The whole universe depended on them and if something went wrong, they could hurt themselves, break friendships and—

“Everything okay?” 

Shiro exhaled slowly, his eyes still closed. The gentle voice came from Keith. Shiro smiled; of course. 

“Hey, Keith.” 

“You’re shaking.” He felt Keith’s presence near him as a hand brushed his cheek, wiping away the tears. 

“Yeah,” Shiro chuckled. “Just got the pre-wedding jitters, I guess.” 

“You and everyone else,” Keith said. Shiro cracked one eye open to see Keith was frowning in worry. A little ways behind Keith was Hunk, wringing his hands as if unsure what to do with himself. “Hunk and I saw you leave. You were crying.”

“I’m fine.” 

Keith smiled in a way that told Shiro he didn’t really believe him. He sighed deeply. His best friend, his most intimate soulmate, his T’hy’la knew better. 

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said. “I put you through all of this. I should never have agreed that we all get married.” 

“Ah, no, Shiro!” Hunk said. “We all want to marry you! We wanted this!” 

“Hunk’s right,” Keith said. “We agreed to this. We know what we’re getting into. We know this is forever, we know our destiny is to always be together, and we’ve agreed to it.” 

“I’m worried we’ve made a mistake,” Shiro confessed. “It’s been nothing but arguments and stress since. We picked a house away from all our parents just to get away, but we’re still cracking.” 

“Families can be like that,” Hunk said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t visit them! And like you said, pre-wedding jitters! I have them too!”

Keith smiled. “It’ll be okay, Shiro.” 

“I think the distance will calm things down!” 

“And the backyard is big enough for a whole army of children,” Keith added with a little smirk. “A new generation of paladins.” 

“But will our bonds survive?” Shiro asked. 

“What haven’t we survived, Shiro?” 

Shiro’s face glowed into a smile. Chuckling, Keith leaned in and nuzzled against him. By then the rest had found them on the large balcony, having heard of Shiro’s breakdown. 

“Shiro, we’re all so sorry,” Allura said. “This is all my fault. I tried to keep it all together, and it just—” 

Shiro waved his hand. “Allura, you have nothing to apologize for. You’ve gone through hell and kept so much buried inside. We all share how you feel right now.” 

“Oh, there is something we forgot about the wedding tomorrow!” Pidge gasped, and Lance was quick to hush her. 

“Not now, Pidge! Can’t you see the state Shiro and Allura are in!” 

Pidge laughed. “Sorry! Just remembered we forgot to learn how to dance for the reception.” 

The others looked at each other in silence before breaking into a good, long, hard laugh. Of all the things, they had forgotten how to have fun. 

“Uh, do any of us know how to dance?” Hunk asked. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m the master at it!” Lance was quick to say. 

“Let Allura’s toes be the judge of that,” Keith mumbled. 

“No, really, did anyone learn how to dance?” Shiro asked. 

“I’ll get the laptop!” Pidge announced. She was back moments later. A couple of instruction videos later, and a playlist of their chosen dance tracks pulled up, they practiced their wedding dance. A nice, slow dance, nothing too involved as none were confident enough in their dancing abilities, not even Lance. Breaking up into three parties, they traded off partners after several minutes. 

“This isn’t so bad,” Allura said with a smile, looking up at Shiro. 

Shiro smiled. With each partner, his mind couldn’t help re-live some fond memorable moments with them. Allura, seeing her for the first time, infiltrating the Galra fleet together. Hunk, who used to hide behind him but who had fast become his own man. Lance, who always looked up to him, whose jokes would either get on his nerves or charm him. Pidge, the way her eyes shone when Shiro revealed he knew her brother, her name, who helped design his new arm. 

And Keith…when it was Keith’s turn, Shiro’s heart burst. It was like each dance was activating their deep-set bond, the bond needed to form Voltron, and Keith was the final piece. Shiro smiled and gasped, feeling a strong rush of emotions as if he were reliving multiple lifetimes together, the memories flashing through his mind. As with his other dance partners, he leaned in and gave Keith a kiss. 

“No toes were crushed in the making of this dance,” Pidge announced nearby. “Incredible!” 

“I feel so much calmer,” Shiro said, and everyone around him voiced their agreement. 

“I think we’re ready,” Allura agreed, sighing happily with her head against Lance’s chest. 

“Do we attempt a six-person dance?” Hunk asked, and the others chuckled. 

“How do we do that?” Keith asked in earnest. “Anything on the internet?” 

“Not for slow dance,” Pidge said with a wicked smirk. “Unless you want something ten times sexier and faster and totally not safe for your family’s eyes.” 

Hunk and Lance’s eyes lit up with interest, but Shiro paled. “Please. _No._”

⁂

The Archivist was appointed officiant for the wedding. He arrived on Planet Earth looking around very confused and had to be guided every step of the way, having lived much of his existence on the sacred grounds of Feyiv.

“Why Miv?” Keith had asked. 

“Because he’s distant relation,” Krolia had explained. “And we made a deal. He officiates your wedding, and the Blades protect him from Sendak.” 

The Archivist, or Miv, looked so out of place in the grand hall even after Krolia and Coran worked to get the gnarly ancient Galran looking proper for a wedding. The massive crowd studied him curiously as he glanced about, equally as confused. 

Shiro could scarcely hide his amusement at their befuddlement on the choice of officiator. 

On one side of the altar were all the best men: Ryou, Matt Holt, General Iverson, Admiral James Hawkins, Jeff Dukane, Cliff Walter (despite the prank, he harbored no hard feelings towards Lance and Hunk), Krik Kirigas, James Griffin, and Ryan Kinkade. Sam Holt and Coran would be walking down Pidge and Allura respectively before joining on the best man’s side, and Hunk would be walked down by his father Jordan. 

On the other side the bride’s maids all stood: Romelle, Ginger Ellington, Lisa Viifitin, Cinda Kirigas, Veronica, Acxa, Ina Leifsdóttir, Nadia Rizavi, N-7, Rachel and Veronica Álvarez, and Lisa Lopez. Krolia would be walking down Keith, and Selma Álvarez would be walking down Lance. They had decided on aquamarine as the color for the bride’s maid dresses (also reflected in the bowties in the best men), as it was the color of the lights of the former Castle of Lions. 

Nadia Álvarez and Sefina Te'o were the flower girls. 

Lenny, Silvio, and Kosmo were appointed ring-bearers, each carrying two rings over a large cushion. Due to a misunderstanding of the term “ring-bearer” in this context, the two boys asked if they could dress up as Frodo and Sam from _Lord of the Rings_. Their parents said no. The paladins said yes, and their word was final say on the matter. 

Their audience was huge: seemingly all of the US, UK, Japan, and even Madagascar divisions of the Galaxy Garrison were attending, among their families and friends, not to mention hordes of alien refugees. Shiro could understand why: the universe depended on this peculiar-yet-sacred union. Not to mention they were curious what a six-person wedding was going to look like, a mashup of three different species, a handful of faiths, and nearly a dozen cultures represented. 

It wasn’t all calm, though, as most Blade members, led by Kolivan, had opted to patrolling the front of the wedding hall should they be attacked. The Voltron Lions were also poised in the front should the wedding be interrupted. In any event, right after the wedding they would mount the Lions and head back to their new Castle of Lions for the…Hyperphase Attempt, as the paladins had come to call it. 

As he was the first at the altar, Shiro got to watch each of his soon-to-be spouses walk down, wearing a big smile the entire time. Lance and Hunk came first, as they were best friends with one another and wanted to join Shiro at the same time. Those who wore suits all agreed on the same basic design: a white suit, a glossy black shirt, and color on their lapel that would be the same color as their paladin armor.

“You’re a hunk, Hunk,” Shiro said, laughing lightly as he embraced him. 

Hunk only laughed back tears of joy. 

“Looking sharp, sharpshooter!” 

“Thanks, man!” Lance said, his eyes bright, so giddy he looked like he was about to blast off into space. Hunk gripped his shoulder and they moved off to the side to allow the next bride to walk down: Pidge, who Shiro couldn’t help but whistle his appreciation. Her suit coat had frills around the hem and cuffs, a mix of masculine and feminine, and her hair was curled around her ears lovingly. 

“You’re radiant,” Shiro said and embraced her.

“Take good care of her,” Sam said softly. 

“Thanks, Dad,” Shiro said and his heart leapt at that realization. 

Pidge beamed up at them before she joined Lance and Hunk’s side. They embraced her lovingly, the old Garrison trio united at the altar. 

Next up was Princess Allura, and the entire crowd fell into silent awe at her ethereal beauty, somehow made more pronounced than ever (Shiro was sure Lance broke down into tears behind him). Coran walked her down. Her wedding train was long, and the two young girls were holding up it up. While the others had opted for a colored lapel to match their paladin armor, Allura’s white dress had a splash of pink embroidery and pink diamonds across the front of her chest. Some special aura sparkled around her that had nothing to do with the little diamonds woven in her dress, dazzling everyone who watched. 

Shiro wiped a tear away. 

“I’m really marrying a princess,” Shiro marveled as they embraced. 

“I’m really marrying five extraordinary, noble paladins,” Allura chuckled lightly before joining Lance’s side. 

Keith’s entrance was followed with Krolia by his side and the entirety of the Blade of Marmora, as radiant as Allura’s entrance but with a more fierce intensity. The march of a warrior, a true paladin, something in Keith’s arrival reminded them of the true purpose of this union, and Shiro could not hold back the tears, moved by love and determination in every step. Keith’s eyes bore into Shiro’s as a knowing smile crossed his face. Shiro’s heart leapt as something, some deep-set emotion, burst within—

“My T’hy’la,” Shiro said and gripped Keith tight against himself. 

“T’hy’la: my brother-in-arms, best friend, and beloved,” Keith said. “My soulmate.” 

Keith motioned to the other Blades, who bowed. The first wedding ritual was about to take place. 

Krolia brought over the first of the gifts over to Lance: a blade like an Altean Broadsword, with a beautiful blue shine. Hunk’s blade was large and wide, a gorgeous shimmer of gold, and could expand three times his height when activated. Pidge’s was tiny and glimmered green, and when activated could become multiple ninja-star like blades she could command with her mind. Allura’s blade was long and thin, and shimmering pink in color; when activated, the blade could become a lance or fighting staff. 

Shiro’s was a glossy black and violet blade that could attach and interface with his bionic arm, becoming a sword at will or a shield. It can also split off into two swords, one for each hand to wield. 

“And for my son,” Krolia said and handed Keith the final blade, one that appeared similar to Krolia’s own except that it was red and violet, “its special secrets are ones you will unlock in time.” 

Keith smiled. “Thanks, Mom.” 

Krolia and the others bowed. The paladins all bowed, marveling at their new blades. The Blades all turned back to their stations, leaving Krolia to remain with the bride’s maids to watch her son getting married. 

The paladins, as per Marmoran custom, attached their blade to the back of their suit or dress before continuing to the next step. 

Now all joined at the altar, the six of them grinned silently at one another, the jitters a mix of excitement and fear and hilarity—_What the hell are we doing?!_—before linking their arms—Hunk, Pidge, Keith, Shiro, Allura, and Lance—and faced The Archivist-turned Officiator. 

“Settle down,” Miv said, his voice able to carry through the entire hall. He studied the slip of paper before him. “We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the unions of—oh dear, let me get my bearings—” The Paladins lightly chuckled—“Princess Allura Ariella Amuena Nesba’Troggirlam, Captain Takashi Shirogane, Captain Keith Yurak Koh, Lieutenant Katie “Pidge” Holt—” a tiny growl was heard in the audience and it was difficult to hold back the laugh; Colleen didn’t want Pidge’s chosen name called out, so of course Pidge (or Krolia, joining in on the rebellion) had scribbled it in last minute)—“Lieutenant Hunk Jordan Te’o, and Lieutenant Lance Luciano Álvarez—did I miss anyone? No, good—in holy matrimony…”

⁂

Shiro—face flushed, panting yet grinning with satisfaction—fell back on the pillow.

“We did it!” 

Keith rolled on top of him, also red-faced and grinning mischievously. “Heck yeah we did!” 

The wedding went without a hitch, and they had a wonderful time at the reception. So much so that they didn’t want to leave just yet. Krolia and Coran encouraged them to take it slow, not to force the bond, just to feel. Everyone was having a wonderful time; Ryou and Romelle especially were really kicking it off, and Shiro would eat his bionic arm if they didn’t end up engaged soon. 

The night lingered on, and everyone had fun, even Colleen and Hayato, the stress of the past several months forgotten. No enemies attacked. Even Acxa was coaxed into dancing by Veronica. And the paladins only left and went to their new home when all six were done dancing and felt like doing more.

The Alteans had the right idea about that chastity period. Shiro wasn’t sure how to explain it, but there was something about their lovemaking—he had never experienced a passion and pleasure this profound before, a climax this great—hell, he didn’t think he was even capable of climaxing multiple times! Like the bond had truly opened wide and he could feel everyone in every possible way, every one of his fellow paladins, his teammates, his spouses, his soulmates—

He felt their mounting pleasures, their climaxes, the waves of bliss passing through and into him, their bliss becoming his. Moaning, the six lay in contentment, entangled. There was no way of telling where one ended and another began. 

“Holy crow,” Hunk panted. “Well…I never thought!” 

“Yeah…” Pidge said, at a loss for words. 

Allura just moaned contently and cozied up against Keith’s back, snuggled tightly between Keith and Hunk. Lance kissed her belly. 

“You all felt that, right?” Shiro asked. “Like we were…” 

“Were one?” Keith finished. 

“Yes,” Allura said. “Oh!” 

Another sensation soon followed, something grander than their lovemaking. It was felt more in the chest, deep in the heart.

“Shiro, you have Altean markings!” Allura gasped. “And they’re glowing! Lance, you too!” 

“Allura, _your_ markings are glowing!” Pidge pointed out. 

Gasping, Keith pulled Shiro’s face towards him. 

They were right. Shiro studied Keith whose own cheeks now sported red glowing Altean marks. Everyone had glowing Altean markings the color of their paladin armor. But that wasn’t all. The sensation grew, hot and deep until Shiro felt as though his own eyes were emitting light. 

“Guys, do you feel that?” Hunk asked. “That Voltron-y feeling?” 

The others nodded. Just like the first time they had all formed Voltron, but this was different, this was more profound, this was—

Untangling themselves from the love-pile, they giddily, unabashed by their nakedness, looked to one another, then to Shiro, all knowing what this meant. 

They did it.

_They did it._

“You know the drill!” Shiro ordered, his eyes and markings alight. “Form Hyperphase Voltron!”

**Author's Note:**

> Some of the horror films are real, some were made up. Escape the Ayuwoki is an actual game and a current obsession of mine. 
> 
> We do meet the Vehicle Voltron crew briefly (Chip!) at the end of Season 8, but I have my own ideas for them, as I hold VV close to my heart. :D


End file.
